Apparatuses and methods for coordination between plurality of co-located wireless communication modules via one wire

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a mobile communication device having a Packet Traffic Arbitrator (PTA) module and a first wireless communication module, coupled to the PTA module via only one wire and configured to perform a first wireless transceiving. The first wireless communication module sends a first request indicating a remaining period of time for a second wireless communication module to use to the PTA module via the wire, and receives, via the wire, a first response indicating whether the first request has been accepted.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No.12/056,335, filed on Mar. 27, 2008, and the entirety of which isincorporated by reference herein. This application also claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/377,750, filed on Aug.27, 2010, and the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to coordination between a plurality of wirelesscommunication modules, and more particularly to apparatuses and methodsfor coordination between a plurality of co-located wirelesscommunication modules via only one wire.

2. Description of the Related Art

To an increasing extent, a multitude of communication functions arebeing merged into mobile devices. As shown in FIG. 1, a cellular phonemay connect to a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) via a WirelessFidelity (WiFi) module thereof and simultaneously communicate with aBluetooth headset (or a Bluetooth car audio, or others) through aBluetooth module thereof. A WLAN system is typically implemented insidebuildings as an extension to Wired Local Area Networks (LANs) and isable to provide the last few meters of connectivity between a wirednetwork and mobile or fixed devices. Referring to FIG. 1, a WLAN isestablished by an Access Point (AP) connecting to a LAN by an Ethernetcable. The AP typically receives, buffers, and transmits data betweenthe WLAN and the wired network infrastructure. The AP may support, onaverage, twenty devices and have a coverage varying from 20 meters in anarea with obstacles (walls, stairways, elevators etc) to 100 meters inan area with clear line of sight. Bluetooth is an open wireless protocolfor exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices,creating Personal Area Networks (PANs). The cellular phone may receivevoice over internet protocol (VoIP) data via the WiFi module and furthertransmit the VoIP data through an established PAN to the Bluetoothheadset, and vice versa. Alternatively, the cellular phone may transmitdigital music through the established PAN to be played back in theBluetooth headset.

Note that the WLAN and Bluetooth systems both occupy a section of the2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, which is 83MHz-wide. As an example shows in FIG. 2, a Bluetooth system uses aFrequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) and hops between 79 different 1MHz-wide channels in a Bluetooth spectrum. A WLAN system carrier remainscentered on one channel, which overlaps with a Bluetooth spectrum. Whenthe WiFi module and the Bluetooth module are operating simultaneously inthe same area, as shown in FIG. 1, and a Bluetooth transmission occurson a frequency band that falls within the frequency space occupied by anongoing WLAN transmission, a certain level of interference may occur,depending on the signal strength thereof. Due to the fact that the WiFimodule and Bluetooth module share the same spectrum and also share asingle antenna, it is required to prevent the occurrence ofinterferences therebetween. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustratinginterferences between WiFi and Bluetooth modules sharing a singleantenna. In FIG. 3, the shared single antenna is switched between WLANand Bluetooth communication services in a given time slot fortransceiving data. If the Bluetooth communication service carries audiodata that requires real-time transmission, for example, SynchronousConnection-Oriented (SCO) packets, the Bluetooth communication servicewould have a higher priority over the WLAN communication service. Inthis case, when a WLAN transceiving process takes place at the same timeas the real-time Bluetooth transceiving process, a time slot will beassigned to the Bluetooth transceiving process and the WLAN transceivingprocess will be blocked. As shown in FIG. 3, the WLAN receivingoperation (Rx operation) 1 occurs in the time slot, while the Bluetoothcommunication service is idle. Therefore, the Rx operation 1 isperformed without interference and an acknowledgement (ACK) message 2 issent to the WLAN AP (such as the AP in FIG. 1) as a reply messageindicating that the Rx operation 1 has been completed. Following the Rxoperation 1, another WLAN Rx operation 3 is performed. The Rx operation3 is also performed without interference because the Bluetoothcommunication service is in the idle state. However, an ACK message 4 inresponse to the Rx operation 3 can not be replied to the WLAN AP, as itstime slot has already been assigned to the Bluetooth transmittingoperation (Tx operation). Accordingly, the Rx operation 3 would bedetermined to have failed. In response to the failure, the WLAN AP wouldre-transmit the data frame with a lower data rate in an attempt tosuccessfully transmit data to the WiFi module of the mobile device.Unfavorably, the re-performed Rx operation 3 (denoted as 5), with aprolonged operation period, would be more likely to overlap with theBluetooth transceiving process. Thus, a data frame would once again bere-transmitted with an even lower data rate than that for the priorre-transmitted data, which would cause even more overlap with theBluetooth transceiving process than the prior attempt. As a result,because the WLAN and Bluetooth wireless communication services sharing asingle antenna are time-division accessed (i.e., only one communicationservice of WLAN and Bluetooth can be enabled at each time slot),throughput of the WLAN is greatly hindered.

In a general design of such a wireless communication device (e.g., thecellular phone), the WiFi and Bluetooth modules are coupled with aplurality of wires, wherein each of the wires are for communicatingspecific information concerning the wireless transceiving operations ofthe WiFi and Bluetooth modules. As shown in FIG. 4, three unidirectionalwires are used to carry the information concerning the wirelesstransceiving operations of the WiFi module to the Bluetooth module,including Tx indicator (i.e., WIFI_TX), Rx indicator (i.e., WIFI_RX),and a transceiving priority indicator (i.e., WIFI_PRIORITY). Referringto FIG. 4, three more unidirectional wires are used to carry theinformation concerning the wireless transceiving operations of theBluetooth module to the WiFi module, including a transceiving priorityindicator (i.e., BT_PRIORITY), a Tx indicator (i.e., BT_TX), and an Rxindicator (i.e., BT_RX). However, such a signaling interface requireseach of the WiFi and Bluetooth modules to have a number of pinscorresponding to the number of the wires (e.g., each of the WiFi andBluetooth modules in FIG. 4 requires six pins for communicating via thewires), and this multi-wire or multi-pin signaling interface results inan additional and unnecessary manufacturing cost and more powerconsumption.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the previously described problem, there exists a need for amethod and an apparatus, in which only one wire is required forcoordination between a plurality of wireless communication modules.

One aspect of the invention discloses a wireless communications system,comprising a Packet Traffic Arbitrator (PTA) module and a first wirelesscommunications module. The first wireless communications module iscoupled to the PTA module via only one wire and configured to perform afirst wireless transceiving. The first wireless communications modulefurther sends a first request indicating a remaining period of time fora second wireless communication module to use to the PTA module via thewire, and receives, via the wire, a first response indicating whetherthe first request has been accepted.

Another aspect of the invention discloses a method for coordinationbetween a plurality of wireless communication modules in a wirelesscommunications device. The method comprises the steps of: sending afirst request, from a first wireless communication module to a PTAmodule via the wire, indicating a remaining period of time correspondingto a first traffic pattern of the first wireless transceiving; receivinga first response, via the wire, indicating whether the first request hasbeen accepted.

Yet another aspect of the invention discloses a wireless communicationssystem, comprising a first wireless communications module and a secondwireless communication module. The first wireless communication moduleis configured to perform a first wireless transceiving. The secondwireless communication module is coupled to the first wirelesscommunication module via only one wire and configured to perform asecond wireless transceiving. The second wireless communication modulefurther sends a first traffic pattern of the second wirelesstransceiving to the first wireless communication module via the wire,and receives a second traffic pattern of the first wireless transceivingfrom the first wireless communication module via the wire.

Other aspects and features of the invention will become apparent tothose with ordinary skill in the art upon review of the followingdescriptions of specific embodiments of the wireless communicationdevices, and the method for the coordination between a plurality ofwireless communication modules via only one wire.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequentdetailed description and examples with references made to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a cellular phone connecting to a Wireless Local AreaNetwork (WLAN) via a WiFi module thereof as well as communicating with aBluetooth headset through a Bluetooth module thereof;

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of Bluetooth frequency Hopping;

FIG. 3 shows a diagram illustrating operation conflicts between a WiFiand a Bluetooth wireless communication services;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional communicationinterface between a WiFi module and a Bluetooth module;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless communication deviceaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6A is a block diagram illustrating the arbitration of the Bluetoothmodule 510 requesting for transceiving 2-EV3 packets using the requesttype mechanism according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6B is a block diagram illustrating the arbitration of the Bluetoothmodule 510 requesting for transceiving 2-EV3 packets using the requesttype mechanism according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating the arbitration of the Bluetoothmodule 510 requesting for transceiving multi-slots packets using therequest type mechanism according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the coordination between theoperations of the Bluetooth module 510 and the WiFi module 521 using thereservation type mechanism according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the coordination between theoperations of the Bluetooth module 510 and the WiFi module 521 using thereservation type mechanism according to another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the PTA module 522for coordination between the Bluetooth module 510 and the WiFi module521 using the reservation type mechanism according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless communication deviceaccording to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary programmablecircuit with one strong device and one weak device according to anembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating the method for exchanginginformation of the wireless transceiving operations between a pluralityof wireless communication modules via an one-wire interface according toan embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carryingout the invention. This description is made for the purpose ofillustrating the general principles of the invention and should not betaken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determinedby reference to the appended claims.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless communication deviceaccording to an embodiment of the invention. The wireless communicationdevice 500 comprises a Bluetooth module 510 for Bluetooth communicationsand a WiFi chipset 520, wherein the Bluetooth module 510 and the WiFichipset 520 are coupled with only one wire 501. To ease understanding,the WiFi chipset 520 is illustrated with a WiFi module 521 for WiFicommunications and a Packet Traffic Arbitrator (PTA) module 522 forcoordinating of the Rx/Tx operations of the Bluetooth module 510 and theWiFi module 521 to avoid interferences or collisions therebetween.Although the WiFi module 521 and the PTA module 522 are shown as twoseparate components, the PTA module 522 may be incorporated into theWiFi module 521, and the Bluetooth module 510 may be coupled to the WiFimodule 521 directly. In another embodiment, the wireless communicationdevice 500 may be devised to provide Bluetooth and WiMAX communicationscapabilities, and the WiFi chipset 520 may be replaced with a WiMAXchipset (not shown) comprising a WiMAX module (not shown) for WiMAXcommunications and another PTA module (not shown) for coordinating ofthe Rx/Tx operations of the Bluetooth module 510 and the WiMAX module.Alternatively, the wireless communication device 500 may be devised toprovide WiFi and WiMAX communications capabilities, and the Bluetoothmodule 510 may be replaced with a WiMAX module (not shown), and theinvention is not limited thereto. The interoperations between theBluetooth module 510 and the WiMAX module through the PTA module, andthe interoperations between the WiFi module 521 and the WiMAX modulethrough the PTA module, may be deduced by the analogies, and are brieflydescribed herein for brevity.

To further clarify, the invention proposes a request type mechanism anda reservation type mechanism for coordinating of the wirelesstransceiving operations of the Bluetooth module 510 and the WiFi module521. In the request type mechanism, both of the Bluetooth module 510 andthe WiFi module 521 need to send requests for performing wirelesstransceiving to the PTA module 522, and the PTA module 522 determineswhich of the Bluetooth module 510 and the WiFi module 521 is granted toperform wireless transceiving during a specific period of time. When theBluetooth module 510 is required to perform wireless transceiving (i.e.,Rx and/or Tx operations) during a forthcoming period of time, it firstdetermines the traffic pattern and/or status information of the wirelesstransceiving to be performed, and then sends a request indicating thetraffic pattern and/or status information to the PTA module 522 via thewire 501. If the WiFi module 521 does not send a request for performingwireless transceiving during the forthcoming period of time, the PTAmodule 522 grants the request sent by the Bluetooth module 510.Otherwise, if the WiFi module 521 also sends a request for performingwireless transceiving during the period of time overlapping with theforthcoming period of time, the PTA module 522 determines which of theBluetooth module 510 and the WiFi module 521 is granted to performwireless transceiving during the forthcoming period of time. In oneembodiment, the status information may include a priority field to thePTA module 522, and when the priority field indicates that the Bluetoothmodule 510 has a higher priority, the PTA module 522 may determine togrant the request from the Bluetooth module 510 and reject the requestfrom the WiFi module 521, or when the priority field indicates theBluetooth module 510 has a lower priority, the PTA module 522 maydetermine to reject the request from the Bluetooth module 510 and grantthe request from the WiFi module 521. The status information and thetraffic pattern, such as the traffic type of the wireless transceiving(e.g., POLL/NULL packets, HV1(High quality Voice 1)/HV2/HV3 packets,2-EV3(Extended Voice 3) packets, or multi-slot packets), and a Tx/Rxindicator, etc, of the wireless transceiving to be performed by theBluetooth module 510 are carried via the wire 501. The signal on thewire 501 is configured to a high voltage level during a time interval T₀to indicate the start of the request.

After the request is sent via the wire 501, another time interval T_(N)may be implemented in which the voltage level of the signal on the wire501 is configured to a low voltage level to indicate the end of therequest. After the time interval T_(N), the PTA module 522 may send aresponse for indicating whether the request has been accepted to theBluetooth module 510 via the wire 501. For example, a high voltage levelof the signal on the wire 501 may indicate that the request from theBluetooth module 510 has been accepted, and a low voltage level of thesignal on the wire 501 may indicate that the request from the Bluetoothmodule 510 has been rejected. Meanwhile, the Bluetooth module 510 maymeasure or detect the voltage level of the signal on the wire 501 duringthe time interval to determine whether the request has been granted, andif so, start to perform wireless transceiving after a waiting timeinterval.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram illustrating the arbitration of the Bluetoothmodule 510 requesting for transceiving 2-EV3 packets using the requesttype mechanism according to an embodiment of the invention. Prior to atime at 0 μs, the Bluetooth module 510 first sends a first request 601for performing a Tx operation to the PTA module 522 via the wire 501,and the PTA module 522 grants the first request 601 with a firstresponse 602 via the wire 501. As the first request has been granted,the Bluetooth module 510 then transmits a Bluetooth medium packet 610 attime 0 μs, which has a time period shorter than a Bluetooth slot of 625μs. Subsequently, prior to a time at 625 μs, the Bluetooth module 510sends a second request 603 for performing an Rx operation to the PTAmodule 522 via the wire 501, and the PTA module 522 grants the secondrequest 603 with a second response 604 via the wire 501. As the secondrequest has been granted, the Bluetooth module 510 then receives aBluetooth medium packet 620 at time 625 μs, which also has a time periodshorter than 625 μs. Specifically, the PTA module 522 may grant thefirst request 601 and the second request 603 as the first request 601and the second request 603 are high priority requests (i.e., therequested Tx operation and Rx operation are for transmitting andreceiving data packets of a delay-sensitive type of services) or theWiFi module 521 is not required to perform wireless transceiving for thesame period of time.

FIG. 6B is a block diagram illustrating the arbitration of the Bluetoothmodule 510 requesting for transceiving 2-EV3 packets using the requesttype mechanism according to another embodiment of the invention. Similarto FIG. 6A, a first request 605 sent by the Bluetooth module 510 via thewire 501 is granted by the PTA module 522 with a first response 606 viathe wire 501, prior to a time at 0 μs, and the Bluetooth module 510transmits a Bluetooth medium packet 630 at time 0 μs. Subsequently, theBluetooth module 510 sends a second request 607 for performing an Rxoperation to the PTA module 522 via the wire 501. However, the PTAmodule 522 rejects the second request 607 with a second response 608 viathe wire 501. Specifically, the PTA module 522 may reject the secondrequest 607 as the second request 607 is a low priority request (i.e.,the requested Rx operation is for receiving data packets of adelay-tolerant type of services) and the WiFi module 521 also requestsfor performing wireless transceiving during the same period of time. Asthe second request has been rejected, the Bluetooth module 510 does notperform an Rx operation to receive the Bluetooth medium packet 640.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating the arbitration of the Bluetoothmodule 510 requesting for transceiving multi-slots packets using therequest type mechanism according to an embodiment of the invention.Since a multi-slot packet has a transmission period greater than 625 μs,transceiving of a multi-slot packet requires more than one time slot.For each request corresponding to wireless transceiving in a time slot,the Bluetooth module 510 sends requests 701, 703, and 705 fortransmitting a multi-slot packet 710 via the wire 501, and sendsrequests 707, 709, and 711 for receiving a multi-slot packet 720 via thewire 501. As the request 701 has been accepted by the PTA module 522,the Bluetooth module 510 starts transmitting the multi-slot packet 710at time 0 μs. However, when the Bluetooth module 510 sends the request703 for continuing the transmission of the multi-slot packet 710, thePTA module 522 rejects the request 703 with a response 704, andaccordingly, the Bluetooth module 510 stop transmitting the multi-slotpacket 710 when receiving the response 704. Therefore, the Bluetoothmodule 510 does not transmit the complete multi-slot packet 710, and itmay resume the transmission of the multi-slot packet 710 from where itstopped in the next transmission period of time. After that, theBluetooth module 510 successfully receives the entire multi-slot packet720, as the requests 707, 709, and 711 have been accepted by the PTAmodule 522.

In the reservation type mechanism, the request includes a remainingwindow field. When the Bluetooth module 510 is required to performwireless transceiving, it may send a request to the PTA module 522 viathe wire 501, which indicates the remaining period of time of thewireless transceiving according to the traffic pattern of the wirelesstransceiving. That is, the Bluetooth module 510 one-sidedly decides toperform wireless transceiving and the request is only sent for informingthe PTA module 522 of the period of time in which the Bluetooth module510 is not required to perform wireless transceiving. After sending therequest, the Bluetooth module 510 performs wireless transceivingaccordingly. When receiving the request from the Bluetooth module 510,the PTA module 522 determines whether to accept the remaining period oftime indicated in the request from the Bluetooth module 510 according tothe traffic pattern of the WiFi module 521. Specifically, the PTA module522 first determines whether a request from the WiFi module 521 has beenreceived for performing wireless transceiving, and if so, determineswhether the transmission or reception period of the wirelesstransceiving by the WiFi module 521 is within the remaining period oftime. If the transmission or reception period of the wirelesstransceiving by the WiFi module 521 is within the remaining period oftime, the PTA module 522 grants the request from the WiFi module 521,and then replies to the Bluetooth module 510 with a response indicatingthat the remaining period of time has been accepted. Otherwise, if thetransmission or reception period of the wireless transceiving by theWiFi module 521 is not within the remaining period of time, the PTAmodule 522 rejects the request from the WiFi module 521, and thenreplies to the Bluetooth module 510 with a response indicating that theremaining period of time has not been accepted (that is, the remainingperiod is given up by WiFi transceiving). In another situation whereWiFi module 521 does not sent a request for performing wirelesstransceiving during that remaining period of time, the PTA module 522 orWiFi module 521 also replies to the Bluetooth module 510 with a responseindicating that the remaining period of time has been given up.Moreover, the traffic pattern of the WiFi module 521 may refer to statusof WiFi module 521 (e.g., active mode or sleep mode). When the WiFimodule 521 is in the active mode, the PTA module 522 may determine toaccept the remaining period of time. However, when the WiFi module 521is in the sleep mode, the PTA module 522 may determine to not accept theremaining period of time.

Similarly, the signal on the wire 501 may be configured to a highvoltage level to indicate the start of the request. The request may beshown as a sequence of high and low voltages on the wire 501. After therequest is sent via the wire 501, a time interval T_(N′) may beimplemented in which the voltage level of the signal on the wire 501 maybe configured to a low voltage level to indicate the end of the request.After the time interval T_(N′), the PTA module 522 may send a responsefor indicating whether the request has been accepted to the Bluetoothmodule 510 via the wire 501. To indicate the remaining time period, thereserve type request can directly indicate the start time and the lengthof the remaining window, or can trigger a counter of the WiFi module 521(or PTA module 522) to count down a period of time, which provides moreflexibility. For example, the reserve request may be used for indicatingto the WiFi module 521 to count down a period of time indicated by theremaining window field and to stop performing wireless transceivinguntil the countdown is over. Each value represented by the remainingwindow bits may corresponds to a specific remaining period of time or aperiod of time for countdown, and the correspondence therebetween may bepredetermined or pre-negotiated between the Bluetooth module 510 and thePTA module 522. For example, in the situation where two remaining windowbits are included in the request from the Bluetooth module 510, theremaining window bits with a value of ‘00’ may be corresponding to aremaining period of time of 0 μs, the remaining window bits with a valueof ‘01’ may be corresponding to a remaining period of time of 312 μs,the remaining window bits with a value of ‘10’ may be corresponding to aremaining period of time of 625 μs, and the remaining window bits with avalue of ‘10’ may be corresponding to a remaining period of time of 1250μs.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the coordination between theoperations of the Bluetooth module 510 and the WiFi module 521 using thereservation type mechanism according to an embodiment of the invention.Prior to a time at 0 μs, the Bluetooth module 510 first sends a request801 to the PTA module 522 via the wire 501, which indicates a remainingperiod of time of 0 μs. In response to the remaining period of timehaving a zero value, the PTA module 522 requests the WiFi module 521 tostop performing wireless transceiving, and replies to the Bluetoothmodule 510 with a response 802 via the wire 501, which indicates thatthe remaining period of time has been accepted. As the remaining periodof time of 0 μs has been accepted, the Bluetooth module 510 thentransmits a Bluetooth medium packet 810 at time 0 μs. Then, forreceiving a Bluetooth medium packet 820 at time 625 μs, another request803 is sent from the Bluetooth module 510 to the PTA module 522 via thewire 501, and the PTA module 522, in this example, grants the request803 with a response 804. After the Bluetooth medium packets 820 arereceived, the Bluetooth module 510 sends a request 805 to the PTA module522 via the wire 501, which indicates a remaining period of time of 1250μs, since the Bluetooth module 510 is not required to perform wirelesstransceiving until a time at 2500 μs. In response to the remainingperiod of time having a non-zero value (i.e., 1250 μs), the PTA module522 further determines whether to grant the request from the WiFi module521 for performing wireless transceiving according to the remainingperiod of time and the traffic pattern of the wireless transceiving tobe performed by the WiFi module 521. Specifically, if the trafficpattern indicates that the wireless transceiving is to be performedduring the remaining period of time, the PTA module 522 grants therequest from the WiFi module 521 and replies to the Bluetooth module 510with a response 806 indicating that the remaining period of time hasbeen accepted. Otherwise, if the traffic pattern indicates that thewireless transceiving is not to be performed during the remaining periodof time, the PTA module 522 rejects the request from the WiFi module 521and replies to the Bluetooth module 510 with a response indicating thatthe remaining period of time has not been accepted. Assuming that theremaining period of time has been accepted in this embodiment, theBluetooth module 510 does not perform wireless transceiving during theremaining period of time. In another embodiment, if the remaining periodof time has not been accepted, the Bluetooth module 510 may continue thewireless transceiving during the remaining period of time, if required.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the coordination between theoperations of the Bluetooth module 510 and the WiFi module 521 using thereservation type and request type mechanisms according to anotherembodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the Bluetooth module510 is required to perform an Extended Synchronize Connection Oriented(eSCO) type transceiving at time 0 μs, wherein the eSCO type ofcommunication is configured with a cycle period T_(esco) of 12 Bluetoothtime slots and a retransmission window W_(esco) of 4 Bluetooth timeslots. Prior to a time at 0 μs, the Bluetooth module 510 first sends acountdown request 901 to the PTA module 522 via the wire 501, whichindicates a countdown value of 7500 μs (i.e., the length of 12 Bluetoothtime slots) by the remaining window bits. In response the countdownrequest, the PTA module 522 rejects any request from the WiFi module 521for performing wireless transceiving, and replies to the Bluetoothmodule 510 with a response 902 via the wire 501, which indicates thatthe countdown value indicated by the remaining window bits has beenaccepted. Specifically, the PTA module 522 requests the WiFi module 521to start a countdown for 7500 μs and not perform wireless transceivinguntil the countdown is over. Note that, the correspondence between thecountdown value and the remaining window bits may be predetermined orpre-negotiated between the Bluetooth module 510 and the PTA module 522.As the countdown value indicated by the remaining window bits has beenaccepted, the Bluetooth module 510 then performs the Tx operation 910 attime 0 μs. Due to the fact that the eSCO type of communication isconfigured with a cycle period T_(esco) of 12 Bluetooth time slots and aretransmission window W_(esco) of 4 Bluetooth time slots, the Bluetoothmodule 510 may dynamically occupy 3, 4, 5, or 6 Bluetooth time slots. Inthis embodiment, when the Bluetooth transceiving is determined to befinished after 3 Bluetooth time slots from time 0 μs, the Bluetoothmodule 510 sends an end request 907 to the PTA module 522 via the wire501 at time 1875 μs. In response to the end request 907, the PTA module522 requests the WiFi module 521 to stop the countdown, and grants therequest (if any) from the WiFi module 521 for performing wirelesstransceiving. Also, the PTA module 522 replies to the Bluetooth module510 with a response 908 via the wire 501, which indicates that therequest has been accepted. Moreover, two pairs of request and response(i.e., the pair of request 903 and response 904 and the pair of request905 and response 906) are sent prior to the BT TX operation 920 and BTRX operation 930, respectively, in case WiFi module 521 overlooks theprevious request (for example, WiFi module 521 may be in sleep modeuntil time 625 μs).

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the PTA module 522for coordination between the Bluetooth module 510 and the WiFi module521 using the reservation type mechanism according to an embodiment ofthe invention. To begin, the PTA module 522 waits for a new request fromthe Bluetooth module 510 (step S1010). When a request is received fromthe Bluetooth module 510, the PTA module 522 determines whether it is acountdown request (step S1020). If so, the PTA module 522 requests theWiFi module 521 to start a countdown according to the remaining windowbits and not perform wireless transceiving until the countdown is over(step S1030). Subsequent to step S1230, the flow goes back to step S1210in which the PTA module 522 waits for another request from the Bluetoothmodule 510. Subsequent to step S1020, if it is not a countdown request,the PTA module 522 determines whether it is an end request (step S1040),and if so, further determines whether a countdown request has beenreceived previously (step S1050). If a countdown request has beenreceived previously, the PTA module 522 requests the WiFi module 521 tostop the countdown (step S1060). Once the countdown is stopped, the WiFimodule 521 may send a request to the PTA module 522 for performingwireless transceiving, and the PTA module 522 may grant the request fromthe WiFi module 521 since the Bluetooth module 510 is no longer requiredto perform wireless transceiving during a forthcoming period of time.Subsequent to step S1050, if a countdown request has not been receivedpreviously, the PTA module 522 requests the WiFi module 521 to stopperforming wireless transceiving (step S1070). Subsequent to step S1040,if the received request is not an end request, the PTA module 522 maygrant the request from the WiFi module 521 for performing wirelesstransceiving during the remaining period of time indicated by theremaining window bits of the received request (step S1080).

In addition, the invention proposes implementations for one-wireinterface which enables two modules (e.g. Bluetooth 510 and WiFi 520) tosend messages bi-directionally. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the wirelesscommunication device 1100 comprises a Bluetooth module 1110 forBluetooth communications and a WiFi module 1120, wherein the Bluetoothmodule 1110 and the WiFi module 1120 are coupled with only one wire1101. In another embodiment, the wireless communication device 1300 maybe devised to provide Bluetooth and WiMAX communications capabilities,and the WiFi module 1120 may be replaced with a WiMAX module (not shown)for WiMAX communications. Alternatively, the wireless communicationdevice 1100 may be devised to provide WiFi and WiMAX communicationscapabilities, and the Bluetooth module 1110 may be replaced with a WiMAXmodule, and the invention is not limited thereto. The interoperationsbetween the Bluetooth module 1110 and the WiMAX module, and theinteroperations between the WiFi module 1120 and the WiMAX module, maybe deduced by the analogies, and are briefly described herein forbrevity.

In the first implementation of the one-wire interface for exchanginginformation of the wireless transceiving operations between theBluetooth module 1110 and the WiFi module 1120 via the wire 1101, one ofthe Bluetooth module 1110 and the WiFi module 1120 is configured toalways be in an input mode with a weak driving ability, and the otherone of the Bluetooth module 1110 and the WiFi module 1120 is configuredto be in an input mode or an output mode with a strong driving ability.Specifically, the one in the output mode may send serial data via thewire 1101, while the one in the input mode may read the state of thewire 1101 to receive the message. The one in the input mode with theweak driving ability may also send data via the wire 1101; however,since its driving ability is weaker, the data can only be read when theother module is also in the input mode (not driving the wire 1101). Inthis way, power consumption and latency issue can be improved. In oneembodiment, the Bluetooth module 1110 is configured to always be in theinput mode, while the WiFi module 1120 may be selectively configured tobe in the input mode or output mode. Since the Bluetooth module 1110 isalways in the input mode, the WiFi module 1120 may be configured to bein the output mode for outputting data at any time, or configured to bein the input mode for reading the state of the wire 1101. Specifically,the WiFi module 1120 may comprises a strong driving circuit, such as adriver/amplifier, while the Bluetooth module 1110 may comprise a weakdriving circuit, such as pull-up and pull-down resistors for driving thewire 1101 to indicate a state when the WiFi module 1120 is not drivingthe wire. More specifically, the wire 1101 is driven to ‘high’ when thepull-up path (comprising the pull-up resistor) is enabled and thepull-down path (comprising the pull-down resistor) is disabled, and thewire 1101 is driven to ‘low’ when the pull-up path is disabled and thepull-down path is enabled. FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating anexemplary programmable circuit with one strong device and one weakdevice according to an embodiment of the invention. The weak device maybe implemented in the Bluetooth module 1110, and the strong device maybe implemented in the WiFi module 1120. In one embodiment, when theBluetooth module 1110 is switching the pull-up or pull-down resistors toindicate the state, it may temporarily suspend the receiving process viathe wire 1101 to prevent reading of unstable signals which may befalsely regarded as serial data from the WiFi module 1120.

In one embodiment, the WiFi module 1120 may first be configured to be inthe output mode for outputting serial data to the Bluetooth module 1110via the wire 1101, and then configured to be in the input mode forreading the state of the wire 1101. In another embodiment, the WiFimodule 1120 may first be configured to be in the input mode for readingthe state of the wire 1101, and then configured to be in the output modefor outputting serial data to the Bluetooth module 1110 via the wire1101. The serial data may comprise information of the wirelesstransceiving operations of the WiFi module 1120, such as the framesynchronization information for the Bluetooth module 1110 to synchronizewith the frame timing of the WiFi module 1120, the Rx activityinformation for indicating whether the WiFi module 1120 is performing Rxoperations in the Rx durations, and the operation status information forindicating whether the WiFi module 1120 is operating in a sleep mode ortransceiving mode, etc. In one embodiment, the WiFi module 1120 may senda preamble prior to the start of the serial data, to indicate theBluetooth module 1110 of that the serial data is going to be sent. Theread state may indicate the information concerning the wirelesstransceiving operations of the Bluetooth module 1110, such as thepriority information for indicating whether the wireless transceivingoperation has a high priority, and the transceiving type information forindicating whether the wireless transceiving operations are Txoperations or Rx operations, etc. In addition, the state may bepredefined and pre-negotiated between the Bluetooth module 1110 and theWiFi module 1120 before the exchange of information therebetween.

In the second implementation of the one-wire interface for exchanginginformation of the wireless transceiving operations between theBluetooth module 1110 and the WiFi module 1120 via the wire 1101, one ofthe Bluetooth module 1110 and the WiFi module 1120 is configured to bean initiator for exchanging information, while the other one of theBluetooth module 1110 and the WiFi module 1120 is configured to be aresponder. Specifically, only the initiator may send serial data via thewire 1101 whenever it is required to, and the responder may only sendserial data via the wire 1101 in response to receiving the serial datafrom the initiator. In one embodiment, the WiFi module 1120 isconfigured to be the initiator and the Bluetooth module 1110 isconfigured to be the responder. As an initiator, the WiFi module 1120 isconfigured to be in the output mode when it is required to send serialdata via the wire 1101 or when it needs to obtain the informationconcerning the wireless transceiving operations of the Bluetooth module1110, and is then configured to be in the input mode after sending theserial data. The serial data may comprise information of the wirelesstransceiving operations of the WiFi module 1120. As a responder, theBluetooth module 1110 is configured to be in the input mode by defaultfor receiving the serial data from the WiFi module 1120 via the wire1101, and after receiving serial data from the Bluetooth module 1110 viathe wire 1101, is configured to be in the output mode for sending serialdata comprising the information concerning the wireless transceivingoperations of the Bluetooth module 1110 to the WiFi module 1120 via thewire 1101.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating the method for exchanginginformation of the wireless transceiving operations between a pluralityof wireless communication modules with an one-wire interface accordingto an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the method isapplied in a wireless communication device comprising a first wirelesscommunication module and a second wireless communication module, whereinthe first wireless communication module is configured for performingfirst wireless transceiving and the second wireless communication moduleis configured for performing second wireless transceiving. Particularly,the first and second wireless communication modules are coupled withonly one wire. To begin, the second wireless communication module sendsa first traffic pattern of the second wireless transceiving to thesecond wireless communication module via the wire (step S1310). Afterthat, the second wireless communication module receives a second trafficpattern of the first wireless transceiving from the first wirelesscommunication module via the wire (step S1320). In one embodiment, thesecond wireless communication module may be configured to always be inan input mode, and may comprise one or more pull-up or pull-downresistors for driving the wire to indicate the second traffic patternwhen the first wireless communication module is not driving the wire,while the first wireless communication module may be configured to be inan output mode when it is required to send the first traffic pattern viathe wire, or may be configured to be in an input mode when it needs toobtain the second traffic pattern by reading the state of the wire.Prior to sending the first traffic pattern, the first wirelesscommunication module may send a preamble for indicating that the firsttraffic pattern is about to be sent. Particularly, the second wirelesscommunication module may suspend the receiving process via the wire whenconfiguring the pull-up or pull-down resistors to generate the secondtraffic pattern. In another embodiment, the first wireless communicationmodule may be configured to be an initiator for exchanging informationwith the second wireless communication module, and the second wirelesscommunication module may be configured to be a responder. As aninitiator, the first wireless communication module may be configured tobe in the output mode when it is required to send the first trafficpattern or when it needs to obtain the second traffic pattern, and maybe configured to be in the input mode after sending the first trafficpattern. As a responder, the second wireless communication module may beconfigured to be in the input mode by default for receiving the firsttraffic pattern, and may be configured to be in the output mode forsending the second traffic pattern when receiving the first trafficpattern.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms ofpreferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to thoseskilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims shouldbe accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and similar arrangements.

1. A wireless communication device, comprising: a Packet TrafficArbitrator (PTA) module; and a first wireless communication module,coupled to the PTA module via only one wire and configured to perform afirst wireless transceiving, sending a first request indicating aremaining period of time for a second wireless communication module touse to the PTA module via the wire, and receiving, via the wire, a firstresponse indicating whether the first request has been accepted.
 2. Thewireless communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the firstwireless communication module does not perform the first wirelesstransceiving during the remaining period of time, if the first responseindicates that the first request has been accepted.
 3. The wirelesscommunication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first wirelesscommunication module continues the first wireless transceiving duringthe remaining period of time if the first response indicates that thefirst request has not been accepted.
 4. The wireless communicationdevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second wireless communicationmodule and the PTA module are encapsulated in a chip, and the PTA modulefurther determines whether to accept the first request for the secondwireless communication module to use the remaining period of time toperform the second wireless transceiving according to a second trafficpattern of the second wireless transceiving.
 5. The wirelesscommunication device as claimed in claim 4, wherein, when t the secondwireless communication module has been granted to perform the secondwireless transceiving, the first response indicates that the firstrequest has been accepted, and when the second wireless communicationmodule has not been granted to perform the second wireless transceiving,the first response indicates that the first request has not beenaccepted.
 6. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 4,wherein the first request is accepted when the second traffic patternindicates that a period of time for performing the second wirelesstransceiving is within the remaining period of time, and the firstrequest is not accepted when the second traffic pattern indicates that aperiod of time for performing the second wireless transceiving is notwithin the remaining period of time.
 7. The wireless communicationdevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first request includes acountdown request to trigger counting in the second wirelesscommunication module or the PTA module.
 8. The wireless communicationdevice as claimed in claim 7, wherein the first request includes an endrequest to stop the counting in the second wireless communication moduleor the PTA module.
 9. A method for coordination between a plurality ofwireless communication modules, comprising: sending a first request,from a first wireless communication module to a PTA module via one wire,indicating a first traffic pattern of the first wireless transceiving;and receiving a first response, from the PTA module to the firstwireless communication module via the wire, indicating whether the firstrequest has been accepted.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 9, whereinthe first request indicates a remaining period of time for a secondwireless communication module to use.
 11. The method as claimed in claim9, further comprising not performing the first wireless transceivingduring the remaining period of time, if the first response indicatesthat the first request has been accepted.
 12. The method as claimed inclaim 9, further comprising continuing the first wireless transceivingduring the remaining period of time, if the first response indicatesthat the first request has not been accepted.
 13. The method as claimedin claim 10, wherein the second wireless communication module and thePTA module are encapsulated in a chip, and the method further comprises:determining, by the PTA module, whether to accept the first request forthe second wireless communication module to use the remaining period oftime to perform the second wireless transceiving according to a secondtraffic pattern of the second wireless transceiving.
 14. The method asclaimed in claim 13, wherein, when the second wireless communicationmodule has been granted to perform the second wireless transceiving, thefirst response indicates that the first request has been accepted, andwhen the second wireless communication module has not been granted toperform the second wireless transceiving, the first response indicatesthat the first request has not been accepted.
 15. The method as claimedin claim 14, wherein the first request is accepted when the secondtraffic pattern indicates that a period of time for performing thesecond wireless transceiving is within the remaining period of time, andthe first request is not accepted when the second traffic patternindicates that a period of time for performing the second wirelesstransceiving is not within the remaining period of time.
 16. The methodas claimed in claim 9, further comprising informing, by the firstwireless communication module via the wire, the PTA module that thesecond wireless transceiving has finished before the start of theremaining period of time, so that the PTA module grants the secondwireless communication module to perform the second wirelesstransceiving before the start of the remaining period of time.
 17. Awireless communication device, comprising: a first wirelesscommunication module, configured to perform a first wirelesstransceiving; and a second wireless communication module, coupled to thefirst wireless communication module via only one wire and configured toperform a second wireless transceiving, sending a first traffic patternof the second wireless transceiving to the first wireless communicationmodule via the wire, and receiving a second traffic pattern of the firstwireless transceiving from the first wireless communication module viathe wire.
 18. The wireless communication device as claimed in claim 17,wherein the first wireless communication module comprises a weak drivingcircuit, and the second wireless communication module comprises a strongdriving circuit.
 19. The wireless communication device as claimed inclaim 17, wherein the first wireless communication module operates in aninput mode, and the second wireless communication module operates ineither an input mode or an output mode.
 20. The wireless communicationdevice as claimed in claim 17, wherein the second wireless communicationmodule operates in either an input mode or an output mode, and the firstwireless communication module by default operates in an input mode, butis able to operate in an output mode after receiving the first trafficpattern of the second wireless transceiving from the second wirelesscommunication module.
 21. The wireless communication device as claimedin claim 17, wherein the first wireless communication module comprisesone or more pull-up or pull-down resistors for generating the secondtraffic pattern.
 22. The wireless communication device as claimed inclaim 21, wherein the first wireless communication module furthersuspends the receiving process via the wire when configuring the pull-upor pull-down resistors to generate the second traffic pattern.
 23. Thewireless communication device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the secondwireless communication module further sends a preamble for indicatingthat the first traffic pattern is about to be sent, prior to sending thefirst traffic pattern.
 24. The wireless communication device as claimedin claim 17, wherein the second traffic pattern is sent by the firstwireless communication module in response to receiving the first trafficpattern.